literacy
Implementation of Arkansas LEARNS Act continues with literacy coach training
Dozens of coaches are preparing to help Arkansas students meet literacy standards outlined in the LEARNS Act, an expansive new education law backed by the governor. During a training session Monday, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the new literacy coaches she knows the impact a single teacher can have on a student because an educator […]
Arkansas LEARNS Act repeal group adds more petition drives, intimidation hotline
The group behind a ballot referendum to repeal the LEARNS Act is organizing more petition-gathering events ahead of Monday’s signature submission deadline. Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students also on Wednesday launched a hotline where people can report if they’ve experienced intimidation for participating in the petition process. CAPES needs to collect more than […]
Arkansas education department searching for LEARNS Act literacy coaches
The Arkansas Department of Education is seeking statewide literacy coaches to help meet literacy standards set in the LEARNS Act, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ sweeping education legislation. The literacy coaches will “support teachers and promote evidence-based literacy instruction aligned to the Science of Reading” in kindergarten through third grade classrooms in public schools with a […]
Lawmakers okay reallocation of $34 million for LEARNS Act initiatives
An Arkansas Legislative Council committee on Tuesday approved the reallocation of $34.7 million in federal recovery funding to support provisions of the LEARNS Act, a new law that changes multiple aspects of the state’s education system, including teacher pay, graduation requirements and literacy standards. Members of the ALC’s Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review subcommittee advanced […]
Governor shares details of education overhaul proposal
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday unveiled some details of her long-awaited education overhaul plan, which includes raising the minimum teacher salary to $50,000 and rolling out a new school voucher program that will eventually be available to all Arkansans. During a press conference inside the Capitol, Sanders said providing every child with access to […]
Sanders signs wide-ranging executive order on education, promises bill ‘very soon’
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders continued to detail her education agenda Wednesday, her second day as governor of Arkansas, by signing an executive order covering a variety of issues, including literacy, school choice and early childhood education. Sanders called the order “a comprehensive approach [to] education that we want to parallel” with a single bill that […]
Sarah Huckabee Sanders sworn in as Arkansas’ first female governor
This was updated at 5:55 p.m. on Jan. 10, 2023. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in her first speeches as Arkansas’ 47th governor described herself as part of a new generation of Republicans eager to limit the role of government. With her swearing in by the state’s chief justice, Sanders became the first female governor of Arkansas, […]
The fight against an age-old effort to block Americans from voting
This ProPublica story was co-published with Gray TV/Investigate TV and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. It is part of The Right to Read, a series examining America’s literacy crisis. For nearly 10 hours on Georgia’s primary day, Olivia Coley-Pearson tracked down every potential voter she could find, working two cellphones as […]